National government

After over 100 villagers in Kampong Thom province’s Sandan district spent three days protesting a sand dredging operation near their homes in Srey Chang village, the company responsible for allegedly affecting villager’s jobs and drinking water source agreed to stop their project in its entirety. ...

Minister of Interior Sar Kheng has sent a new set of procedures to local authorities aimed at speeding up the sluggish process of issuing new IDs. ...

The Interior Ministry has warned 140 of its employees to stop skipping work or risk being fired. It is one of the first government ministries to penalize “ghost workers” – the thousands of bureaucrats, police officers, and other civil servants who are on the government ...

The Ministry of Labour on Saturday issued a 12-point set of standards for recruitment agencies sending workers abroad, warning operators they have just over a month to comply. ...

Driver’s licence and vehicle inspection fees have been cut nearly in half, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Ministry of Public Works and Transportation announced late last week. ...

The number of ships coming through the port rose 17 percent year to year, and cruise ships rose from 25 to 36. ...

Cambodia must tackle the skills gap to boost the productivity of its labor force in order to grow its economy, according to the latest report. ...

The Ministry of Mines and Energy generated a four-fold increase in non-tax revenues from extractive industries last year, collecting just over $17 million, a ministry official said yesterday. ...

The Ministry of Public Works and Transportation in an announcement yesterday warned that action would be taken against those who illegally construct on the shoulders of, or fill in canals along, National Road 4 between Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. ...

A trade facilitation manual aimed at increasing the size of Cambodia’s seafood products will be ready by April and looks to help producers and exporters improve their export readiness and take advantage of ASEAN integration. ...

About 300 vendors from the Tumnup market in Phnom Penh’s Russei Keo district protested in front of the municipal court on Wednesday to demand that two of their colleagues who were arrested amid a dispute over market fees be released. ...

The Ministry of Rural Development, UNICEF and NGO Plan International Cambodia on Monday launched a new project to improve access to sanitation for 2,000 families in Ratanakkiri province. ...

The government cancelled two concessions for offshore oil – Block B and Block F – held by two foreign companies last year because they failed to comply with the terms of their agreements, senior officials from Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) told Khmer Times ...

In an effort to standardise wedding rituals, Cambodia’s achars, or laymen who carry out Buddhist rites of passage, have been invited to a 10-day training course next month in the capital, the Ministry of Cults and Religion announced last week. ...

The government has announced several amendments to the troubled Traffic Law which, according to National Police spokesman Kirt Chantharith, will be fully enforced starting March 15. ...

The National Assembly on Thursday passed an accounting and auditing law that aims to bring financial reporting procedures for the government, NGOs and the private sector in line with international standards. ...

Investment in the construction sector reached an all-time high last year at almost $3.5 billion, up about 40 percent from the $2.5 billion invested in the sector in 2014, according to data from the Ministry of Land Management, Urban Planning, and Construction.   ...

The draft law to join the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank passed the National Assembly yesterday with lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition party supporting it, saying it will  open the door to a new source of funding for the development of the Kingdom’s ...

Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts expressed grave concerns yesterday over damage caused to remote heritage and conservation sites at their annual review meeting in Phnom Penh. ...

Due to the lack of qualified personnel to evaluate new patents and enforce the existing law, the Industry Ministry is cooperating with the European Patent Office to enhance their capacity so that Cambodia can better ensure protection of patents to draw more investment, Industry Minister ...

The government collected about $1.3 billion in tax revenue in 2015, a 21.67 percent increase over the previous year, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s general department of taxation on Monday. ...

Government ministries were yesterday urged to continue their efforts in shifting responsibilities towards local authorities at an annual meeting to discuss ongoing decentralisation reforms, reforms one top official called key to the ruling party’s upcoming election hopes. ...

In its own decentralisation efforts, the Ministry of Education has delegated authority over the issuing of licences to pre-schools to provincial- and city-level education departments, Minister of Education Hang Chuon Naron said yesterday. ...

The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) is requiring financial institutions to gradually phase in a higher liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) to ensure sustainable growth in the industry and avoid crises.  ...